Cuäré
Cuäré, Cârÿé in Gotárÿé ''and commonly known as 'The Lame King, ''The Crippled King'' and also ''The King of Generosity''', was the third Paramount King of the ael'ùvah. He was the son of Cuënathù and Maraë. He was said to have been a good ruler but his reign was weakened by rebellious nobles and illness. He was also crippled as a child after falling from a tree. By many, he is regarded to be amongst the best of the Paramount Kings, however, his rule was marked by illness and the scandal caused by it. He wished to significantly reduce the power that the nobles of his kingdom possessed while also increasing the power of the poorest in society. He achieved this goal and lessened the power of his nobles considerably. Names and Titles Cuäré was known as ''Cuäré the Lame, the Beggar, the Ill, the Weak and the Cripple. By his supporters, he was known as the Generous. '' Appearance Cuäré was much like his father in his appearance. He had long, blond hair and dark blue eyes. He was quite muscular and well-built, however, his legs were very thin and weak. Apart from this, he was said to have been quite attractive in his youth. Unlike his father, however, he was quite short for his race, reaching a height of 5' 10". History Early Life Cuäré was born to Cuënathù and Maraë a few decades after they were married. From a young age, he was taught how to negotiate and to be a good and just ruler. He was also allowed to play whenever he wanted, a luxury that his father was not allowed by Cuëníevé, Cuäré's grandfather. Sometime during his childhood, Cuäré was crippled after falling from a great height. He was said to have been climbing a tree outside the city of Gil-Navarié when the branch he was on snapped. His injuries are said to have been so great that even the great magician Erùnné could not save his ability to walk. Life as a Paramount Prince As a Paramount Prince, Cuäré had little to do. There were rarely any wars during his father's time as ruler. His functions as a prince were limited to meetings with those who still harboured hate for those of Gil-Gotham. During his time as a prince, Cuäré met his future wife, Nirvayë, and later married her. His first child, Narvaë, was born a few years after the marriage. Life as a Paramount King About a century after Cuäré's marriage to Nirvayë, Cuënathù died of old age. On his death, Cuäré was promoted to Paramount King, being the only child of Cuënathù and Maraë. Despite this, there were many opponents who believed that the rule of Gil-Navarië should pass to Maraë until Cuäré could provide a suitable heir (Narvaë was female and was thus not elligible to rule). There were many rebellions during his time. A great rebellion, known as the Noble's Schism, happened about two hundred years after Cuäré's ascension to the throne. Cuäré had taken Cuënathù's policies to the extreme, taxing the rich huge amounts while abolishing tax for those earning little. This earned him both enemies and supporters. Over half of his nobles wished to keep their vast sums of money and planned to overthrow Cuäré. Cuäré's army was split in half, however, many peasants joined his forces and more than made up for the losses. The Noble's Schism The first battle of the war took place outside the city of Gil-Navarié, at the town of Narvaîr. Echén-Gotham Saravoëd Ar-Hûdùn, one of the most powerful nobles in Gil-Navarié, had marched his soldiers from his estate to try and capture the city. Cuäré was quick to rally his supporters and went to meet Saravoëd with his army, despite the fact that he had to walk for miles supported by a stick. The battle was a victory for Cuäré. Later battles would not be so easily won. Gil-Navarié was almost captured by Echén-Gotham Barù Dùré and Gil-Gotham was razed to the ground. The war was eventually resolved and Cuäré was victorious, however, he was forced to reduce how much the rich were taxed. During the Noble's Schism, Cuäré's wife gave birth to Cuäroëd. After the Noble's Schism Cuäré would spend his later years as a ruler healing the damage caused by the war. His physical and mental state was damaged by the war and he would never recover to his former condition. Cuäré had managed to reduce the power of his nobles but they had also managed to reduce his power. Rule would later pass onto his eldest son, Cuäroëd the Wise. Personality Cuäré was a very generous and kind ruler, as reflected in his policies. He vastly reduced the wealth and the power of the nobles during his time as ruler. He diverted much of his kingdom's money into creating schemes to help the poor and is credited with making the first benefits system. He hated the poverty that some of his people had to endure. He was also an ardent believer of equality and tried to bridge the rift between Gil-Navarié and Gil-Gotham with his schemes. Views on Nobles Cuäré was disgusted by the amount of power that his nobles had and took action to reduce this power. He taxed his nobles heavily and took land from them to give to poor farmers. His actions enraged many nobles and caused them to rebel. Views on the Poor Cuäré viewed the poor kindly. He introduced policies to improve the lives of the poor and to reduce the levels of poverty. He abolished tax for the poor and provided them with land to farm. He also gave them subsidies to pay for food. He is credited with creating the first ''grain dole, a policy in which every peasant was given a minimum amount of grain with which they could make bread and other foods. Many of his policies were copied and used by the Mithraleenean Empire. Armour and Weapons Cuäré was a peaceful ruler. Never in his rule did he wear armour or weapons. He prefered the quill over the sword. Even when in danger, he never took up a sword. The only thing that he used for protection was his walking stick, that was carved from wood taken from the very tree that he fell from. If he was required to use force, he would use his magic. Cuäré was a skilled magician, more so than his father and grandfather. Overall, he achieved well in magic and had mastery over most of the disciplines. He was very good at potions-making. He was one of the few people to study and practice alchemy successfully, as well as many other arcane arts. Trivia Category:People Category:List of Paramount Kings Category:Famous Elves Category:Rulers